Update on UBC’s budget for the 2020/21 fiscal year


This year UBC is navigating the challenging short and long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with other higher education institutions across Canada and around the world.


While the full impact is not yet known, the university is presenting the UBC Budget for fiscal year 2020/21 to the Board of Governors on July 27. As in previous years, the budget is in alignment with the university’s academic mission and our strategic plan, Shaping UBC’s Next Century.


This year’s budget is based on rigorous financial analysis and planning. As a result of this analysis, UBC is currently projecting a $225M deficit for the fiscal year 2020/21. We recognize that this is a significant number, but it is important to remember that due to the uncertainty we are facing, it is an estimate. It will be adjusted as we determine our enrolment and student housing occupancy in the coming weeks.


The financial projection is the result of work with colleagues from across the university and with the work of knowledgeable teams doing extensive modelling. The projected deficit is also subject to considerable variance with respect to the full impact of COVID-19 on enrolment, residency in student housing, and loss of conference and other revenues. At this stage, UBC enrolment looks positive for the fall. The number of applications is similar to past years, and acceptances and course registration remain strong. However, we will not have a full understanding of the impact of COVID-19 until later in September.


Alongside this, new expenditures are required to provide emergency support to students, to transition to online learning, and to implement additional safety measures. We will continue to assess our financial situation as more definitive data is available and will take a long-term view to fiscal management.


The university has acted quickly to help mitigate and proactively address financial gaps resulting from the impact of COVID-19, while we consider approaches to ensure UBC’s long term sustainability. We appreciate that the projected deficit may cause concern, but UBC is a resilient and financially robust institution. We are shifting resources to ensure continuing support for learning, teaching and research, and transitioning non-urgent expenditures to later years, as well as curtailing discretionary spending.


We would like to reiterate our thanks to you and your teams for supporting the mitigating steps and helping to reduce spending during this time. By working together and continuing to focus on the health and wellbeing of our diverse and inclusive community, and on our core academic mission, we will emerge stronger than ever.


Peter Smailes
Vice-President, Finance and Operations


Andrew Szeri
Provost and Vice-President, Academic, UBC Vancouver


Ananya Mukherjee Reed
Provost and Vice-President, Academic, UBC Okanagan